The Enigmatic World (SYOC)
by NeoKeeper
Summary: The world is full of mysteries...Many left untruthfully answered or not answered at all. When the dead start rising worldwide and everything becomes hectic, a group of teenagers stand and demand for answers of how to stop it! Follow Ichihiki Ookami and other teens as they search for the answers they need to purify the world of the dead! Original HOTD Cast appear! Rating may change.
1. OC App

Welcome to the new project of yours truly, the author that brought you Bloodstained World, the one and only, Keeper of Armageddon! Like I said from my latest chapter of my other HSOTD story, I have begun a new story, or more like an AU to Bloodstained. But instead of changing the cast of B.W. into their almost complete opposites, I decided on a new cast to rise. And unlike B.W., where i almost accepted every OC that came to me, I'm limiting the openings.

Now, let me do some shout outs I feel like doing.

If you like mystery, humor, and a slight mix of the dead, then you should read my other SYOC story, Bloodstained World. The main character is Mark Kuzen, a boy with a kind heart and a never breaking will. Follow him as he tries to survive with his friends in the apocalypse of the undead. Even the past of his family and himself will become the challenge he and his friends will have to face.

This story is a first of it's kind in the HSOTD section, or so I think. We got twenty juvenile teens put in the game of ultimate survival in a prison where they have to resort the weapons they find due to the fact that the prison's staff are hogging all the weapons for themselves, but not only is that a problem, but the whole prison is swarming with the dead. The SYOC, Dead Delinquents by Lazersword88 and co-authored by myself, is going to a thrill ride of action and suspense.

One more shout out to the story, The Fallen by PanadaHeroXD. It's been quite some time, but the story is now on a go, people. Though, the first chapter was short, it was able to catch me on hook and it'll probably do you the same.

So I got to tell you five things to do when you go to these stories: Read, Review, Fave, Follow, Reread!

Now, let me explain some things before I let you check out my OC and then make your own to catch my interest. This story will take place in Japan, so the original cast of HSOTD will be making an appearance too. Also, the timeline of the beginning of the story will be 20 years after the outbreak, where my mystery OC, who will not be explained through an OC app for the mystery effect, will be introduced along with some survivors of the apocalypse. Now, please note this, I decide if your character will appear in that future or not so don't ask or plead for me to do so. Also, note this, THERE WILL BE DEATHS! A zombie apocalypse story is nothing without any deaths!

Please, PM me the the OC apps for those who leave it in the review will not be accepted, excluding those who don't have an account on this network (Though it makes me wonder why you don't, when you are given the ability to favorite and follow your favorite stories and authors, and also gives you the ability to PM your favorite author or friends...Don't have to be an author to have an account, you know.). If you don't have an account, then leave it in the reviews.

Now, without further delay, here's my OC:

_**Name**_: Ichihiki Ookami

_**Nickname(s)**_: Ichi

_**Gender**_: M

_**Age**_: 18

_**Ethnicity:**_ Japanese

_**Family:**_

Step Cousin- Mackenzie Blackwood (Female, 25 years old, Alive)- She and Ichihiki live under the same roof and the two can be seen as a couple if one doesn't know of their actual relationship. She is the only one who Ichihiki acts soft and somewhat childish with, and Ichihiki opens up to her the most out of anyone he knows. The two work together at the restruant she runs and Ichihiki is a kind of co-author to the books she writes.

Father- Ashton Kuzen (Male, Dead)- Ichihiki didn't get to develop much of a relationship with Ashton due to Ashton always being drunk.

Mother- Sayori Rizuka (Female, 31 years old, Unknown)- Ichihiki never really had a close relationship to his mother due to the fact that Ichihiki didn't return to his father in time to build an actual relationship with her.

Brother- Mark Kuzen (Male, 16 years old. Unknown)- Ichihiki's parents were about to name him Mark, but decided to name him after a dying relative. Ichihiki and Mark never really knew each other due to the fact that they were separated for awhile when they were young.

_**Personality**_: Ichihiki can be seen, at first sight, as cold and dark. He prefers to be alone and have his piece of mind, even working alone, if the situation always it. He usually is quiet and anti-social. If he did talk to anyone, he'll usually be blunt or sometimes even negative. Though, if he's used to the person, he'll talk a little more casually, but mostly with short responses. He hides many mysteries of his past, avoiding the subject by either staying quiet or walking away. But even with his dark personality, he still is kind-hearted, he just chooses to suppress his feeling. This is due to his father's constant abuse, pounding into his head that showing sympathy showed weakness. Though Ichihiki thought otherwise, he never went against his father.

When Ichihiki opens up, he becomes more loyal and kind to the people around him, but still keeps to himself (Sometimes saying, "Action speak louder than words") He will share little of his mysterious intentions, and will even put his life on the line to make sure everyone else is safe. Also, when Ichihiki finally talks about his past and let's his emotions out, he'll tear up a bit. This was one of the reasons he didn't like to let emotions out, he becomes very emotional at points and times.

When it comes to a love relationship, Ichihiki feels he shouldn't be in one, so he tries to solude himself from anyone, boy or girl. If a girl was persistent enough to get to know him and helps him a bit with his emotions, Ichihiki would take a little liking to her, slightly showing signs of his affection. When he begins to let his emotions out, he'll be more open to that girl than anyone else.

_**History**_: When Ichihiki turned 8, he moved in with his father, Ashton Kuzen, who had just lost custody of his younger brother, Mark Kuzen. Ever since he moved in, Ichi had been taking the abuse of his father, who was always drunk. Though Ichihiki didn't like taking his father's abuse, he loved his father too much to defend himself, not wanting to hurt his father. But he was only able to keep it that way until he was 12 years of age. One day, Ichihiki's father had gotten pissed off at Ichi for no reason, Ichi thinking his father was just drunk. When Ichihiki began to talk back, his father snapped and lunged at Ichihiki with a knife. Ichi did his best trying not to hurt his father, but when a killing blow was about to land, Ichihiki freaked out. Quickly dodging the knife, Ichihiki disarmed his father, grabbed hold of the knife, and started repeatedly stabbing his father out of fear. When the police came after recieveing a call, they found Ichihiki crying, looking at a bloodied knife with a crazed look, his father's body by his side. After some time of interrogation, Ichihiki was brought to the household of his female 19 year old step cousin, who was the only relative he had in the city. The first two years the two lived together was dark. Ichihiki mentality was piecing away bit by bit, and as the time passed, those pieces kept getting bigger. He had attempted suicide three times. First time, he attempted to hang himself, but the belt he used to hang himself with snapped, and he was saved due to complete luck. The other two times, he was stopped by his cousin, who, after the third attempt, was the reason he stopped trying to kill himself after she had made him realize how important he was. After he finished his Junior High years, Ichihiki and his cousin moved to Japan for a change of scenery and for new experiences. This change not only changed the two relationship, but Ichihiki himself. He had given the time to change his name to Ichihiki Ookami and dye his hair into a crimson red. As Ichihiki's high school years past, he was able to control his emotions, but he was still able to have mental breakdowns, which make him for negative and violent. He was also able to build a stronger bond with his cousin, who he worked with at their restraunt and he helped with brainstorming for the books his cousin writes. He was able to meet other people who call themselves his friends, but there were only a few of them, since Ichihiki had this dark demeanor on him most of the time and hardly anyone had the nerves to approach him. He has also made some enemies too. On his Junior year, Ichihiki had gotten news about his younger brother, who lived back in America. Turns out, his brother had fought against the law itself to prove his girlfriend was innocent and was able to win the case. Ichihiki had never contacted his brother directly, due to the fact he was trying to forget about his past. When Ichihiki entered his last year of high school, Ichihiki already had his future set for him, all he needed to do was finish his final year of school.

_**Appearance:**_ 6'2", 168 lbs., Runner's body, light toned, crimson red/messy/ shoulder length hair, lightning-blue eyes

_**Sexuality: **_Straight

_**Club Activities:**_ Kendo Club

_**Likes:**_ Solitude, Silence, Reading, "Friends", Mackenzie

_**Dislikes:**_ His past, feeling lost, losing someone he has a strong bond with

_**Clothes:**_

School Uniform- Long-sleeved white dress shirt (Sleeves rolled above elbows), red tie, black under shirt, no blazer, black slacks, black dress shoes, black socks

Casual Wears- White shirt, black zip-up hoodie (Unzipped halfway, sleeves rolled up), tan cargo shorts, black sneakers, white socks

Accessories(Goes with Casual Wears)- Black leather gloves, black knee pads, silver rosary necklace (Under shirt), a dark-brown leather sheath for katana (Straps over shoulders), sunglasses (Black tinted lens)

_**Weapons:**_

School Weapon- Bokken

Main Weapon- Katana with a black and red hilt

_**Fighting Styles:**_Ichihiki has trained in Karate and Boxing, and since he was in the Kendo Club, he is quite proficient at the blade. When fighting, Ichi likes to use the environment to his advantage by throwing the basic parkour he know.

When Ichihiki is using his katana, he keeps his sword in his left hand when not using it, then switching to his right hand when attacking. The sword never goes back to his left hand until he is done attacking. When switching hands, his first will most likely come from the switch of hands. The attack will either be a horizontal or diagonal slash. He will also make use of his feet and free hand by adding his Karate and Boxing skills and even some throws in his combos. By doing so, he can leave little openings for his opponent(s).

Ichihiki is one who can work better alone, but still knows the meaning of teamwork. When it comes to cooperating with others, Ichihiki can adapt to the situation quickly.

* * *

Your turn, make it good, friend.

_**Name**_:

_**Nickname(s)**_: If any...

_**Gender**_: M/F?

_**Age**_:14-18

_**Ethnicity:**_

_**Family:**_ Age, Status during apocalypse, small description of relationship

_**Personality**_: Be descriptive, I don't want to get a character's personality way off the expectation the creator wanted him/her to be like...

_**History**_: Again, descriptive. It doesn't have to be long. I going to use the characters' pasts for their character development. Though, no military history. The character can be taught to use a gun and be exceptionally proficient at using one, but I don't need a rip-off of Kohta or a teenage super soldier walking about, okay? And no harsh family training! I don't want a bunch of OP teenagers in this story, character like that die first in my opinion. Have the character join a school club or do some realistic out of school activities. In short terms, just some normal teenagers with normal knowledge of how to defend themselves.

_**Appearance:**_ Height, Weight, Body Type, Skin color, Hair color/style/length, eye color, other features

_**Sexuality: **_Straight, Homo, Bi

_**Clubs/Activities:**_ Don't make your character lazy, haha.

_**Likes:**_

_**Dislikes:**_

_**Clothes:**_

School Uniform- You have your character not have some of these things on, but make sure they still wear the School's uniform. You can also had some small accessories.** (White dress shirt [Short-sleeved/long-sleeved], red tie, any under shirt, Black blazer, Black slack/skirt, Black dress shoes, any type of socks)**

Casual Wears-

Accessories(Goes with Casual Wears)- Bracelets, necklaces, piercings, headphone, etc.

_**Weapons:**_

School Weapon- Something accessible in a school, don't want any sort of misplaced weapon like a gun or a sword in the school, no matter how much I wish that was possible, but I gotta stay realistic.

Main Weapon- Melee weapons please, guns run out of ammunition and I don't want to have a character somehow keep an unlimited set of clips on his person when they don't even have enough pockets to fit them all. But don't worry folks, guns won't be out of the picture in this story, they'll appear during appropriate times.

_**Fighting Styles:**_ Give me a description of how your character will use his or her weapons. If he or she is a non-combatant, then how will your character support the others? As the voice that cheers on in back, the obnoxious voice that tells another character to watch out, a medic, or even better, meat shield and zombie bait?!...heh...

_**Reaction/Relationship to Ichihiki:**_

* * *

Alright guys, until next time,

Keeper out!


	2. More Info

Alright, I'm just going to throw out some more information at you all. Firstly, I'd like to say that I forgot to mention that I have a co-author on board here, and most of you should know him for he is the author of the two SYOC stories on the HSOTD section, Dancing Through Flames and Dead Delinquents, which is a story I'm co-authoring. Yes, for those of you who already guessed, my co-author is Lazersword88. We've been in a kind of partnership for some time now, and I just felt like stopping my lone wolf act and get some help from other authors.

Now, that we've reached the topic of Lazersword, I'm just going to make another shout out about his story, Dancing Through Flames. For those who have been keeping up with his work, you should know that the Cooper Arc is making its end and the Arc of the Undead is making its rise. For those of you who haven't read it, you're missing out on some great stuff. Now, why I'm doing this shout out is because I just got word that the moment we've all been waiting for making its debut. Now people for who've kept up with this piece of work, all the waiting you've been doing is about to be reward ten-fold! And for those of you who haven't read it...What are you waiting?! Get on with!...Well, after you finish reading this update.

Now, the summary says that the original cast of HSOTD will be making an appearance, and that 100% true. They'll all have a very important role in the story, even Alice...and Zeke? This will also mean the city we're in is Tokonosu City (Yeah, I've been doing my reasearch). The school this story's cast will be attending is Mikazuki Academy, and in this story, Mikazuki Academy is the rival school to Fujimi Academy, the school in which the original cast attend. So this is one of the ways I'll involve the other characters. The other ways I'll involve them...well, if I tell you, I'll spoil the story.

The limit of characters I'll have will be ranging from 15-20 characters. And as I said before, there will be deaths, but I won't be killing off anyone character without letting the character develop in the story, unless it's a character I didn't accept as a plot important character. I'll also say that during the 20 years after the outbreak part of the story, there will be no Them. This will be explained in the first few sets of chapters as we follow my mystery OC in the future.

Well, it was short, but that's all I have to add. If you have any questions, please PM me or if you don't have an account, then leave it in the reviews.

Keeper out!


	3. E1: It's Been Years

Alright, we are gonna start this story off! But first, the characters I accepted so far, and yes I said SO FAR! I got 12 accepted characters so far, not counting my own, I can allow a bit more. So the people who want to send in characters or resend in characters, shoot away!

So here's the current cast:

_**Ichihiki Ookami**_ - Keeper of Armageddon

**Axia** - Reaeon

**Sena Richet** - Lazersword88

**Shin Tayaka** - PandorasBox12

**Himeko Kurotsuki **- bunnyeria

**Alok Dulal **- POMForever

**Charlotte "Charlie" Fields** - Ninja Kat is Stalking You

**Saku Bara** - Phooka-chan

**Sung Hyo In **- Ric BP

**Rito Suzuki** - Symmetry Obsessed Shinigami

**Hinata Tsubaki **- InfinityBear

**Isaac Zaytsev** - Maverick7481

**Julius Rossenburg **- SaudraeofSunday

There you go, the current cast. But before I start this chapter, I'd like to remind you that these first few chapters will be 20 years after the Outbreak...So hardly any of Them are there, just leftovers of how many were The character we'll be focusing on is my mystery character, Shinku, a 19 year old female. The setting will still be in Japan, and survivors of the apocalypse will be introduced. After Shinku meets a certain survivor, I'll shoot the story back before the Outbreak, introduce the cast, build up relationships , and begin the Outbreak. Why I'm doing this little segment in 20 years after the Outbreak is to allow in some more mystery and give other readers sometime to submit OC's.

Now, if you follow along with my other story, then you know how I work. Each Arc will be in terms of Episodes, Episodes, at most, are 10 chapters each. At the end of each chapter, we'll have a slight Review Time, where I'll throw some questions at you readers to think about.

First, the Disclaimer...

_**Disclaimer: I do not own High School of the Dead and the characters from the Anime/Manga. All Original Characters belong to their respective owners. I am only allowed the ownership of my own Original Characters and the plot of this story, The Enigmatic World.**_

Okay, without further delay, here we go!

_**Episode 1: It's Been Years...**_

_**20 years after the Outbreak...**_

A woman stood at her balcony, watching the sun rise in the morning sky. She was at her apartment, which was at a five-story building, her room on the fourth floor. She was up early to get ready for her new job at EstraDennel Corporaton, or E.D. Corp for short.

The E.D. Corp was organized about 20 years ago by the world's Government. In Tokonosu City, the Corporation was made up of survivors from the apocalypse from 20 years ago and their children, who were old enough to join. Their goal was to prevent any kind of incident that could result to another zombie apocalypse.

The Corporation is made up of different parts. Two of the major parts are the Research Facility and the Security/Military Facility. The Research Facility is lead by Saya Takagi, a survivor of the apocalypse of 20 years ago. The Facility was built to figure out the roots of the chemical that rose the dead, and build machines that can be used to locate the source of the chemical in certain areas. The Security/Military Facility is lead by Kohta Hirano, yet another survivor. The employees under this Facility are trained to kill the undead that were leftover from the apocalypse or undead-like creatures in the Research Facility. The employee's under the Security/Military Facility are spread out across the city to keep civilian safe. The employee's also work as normal officers of the law.

But the most important branch of the Corporation is a group called, The Pack. The Pack is a confidential group, only known by the Corporation and the world's Governments. The Pack consists of a small group of agents that are assigned by the Corporation. The Pack's job is to eliminate leftover undead that have populated a certain area, and to take out underground scientist that may threaten another outbreak. This is kept confidential to keep the people calm. So this makes the Pack the most important branch out of the whole Corporation.

The woman had requested, and was recommended by agents of the Pack, to be assigned to the Pack. She was accepted in, but was also assigned a partner to keep watch over her, since she was still the age of 19, and would be the newest to the group. This was also due to a request the woman's mother had requested behind the woman's back.

The woman sighed to herself as she head back inside her apartment. Her apartment had a living room/kitchen, two bedrooms, and a bathroom. Each room was quite simple. A couch, table and TV in the living room. A bed, desk, two drawers and a closet in her room. The other bedroom was left empty. The bathroom had all her needs in it.

The woman went to the bathroom to take her shower. She was in the shower for a few minutes before coming out. She dried herself off with her towel. Before wrapping her body with the towel, she took the time to criticize her A-sized breasts. After wrapping the towel around herself, she wiped the fogged up mirror of the bathroom with her hand. The woman examined her white skin as she ran her hand through her silver, shoulder-length hair. Her bangs, which normally swept over to her right, just above her eyebrows, were barely covering her right eye.

As the woman exited her bathroom, she heard a knock on her door. She rolled her eyes as she knew who was behind it already. Without worrying about how she was wearing nothing but a towel, the woman opened the to a 37 year old woman, casually dressed.

"Thank goodness..." The woman said in relief.

The woman in the towel rolled her eyes once more. "What is it, Sena?" The woman addressing the 37 year old by her first name.

"Just thought I'd stop by and walk with you to work when your ready." Sena answered. "So, Ma-"

"I told you not to address me with that name. It's Shinku. Remember it." Shinku said calmly as she gestured Sena to enter.

As Sena walked past her, Shinku noticed the height difference between the two of them. Shinku stood at 5'6". When she saw how tall Sena was, she could tell she must be about 6 feet tall or slightly taller.

Sena examined the simple living room as she twirled her finger in her dirty blonde hair, which went down to her mid-back. She put on a small smile before turning to Shinku, who was waiting for her to follow her to her room. As Sena entered the room, Shinku threw off her towel, showing off her slim body as she looked for something to wear. Sena took a seat on Shinku's bed as she wiped down the top of her blue jeans, slightly examining her purple and white sneakers.

Sena glanced over at the still bare Shinku, a small question of curiosity popping in her head. "Hey, Shinku..."

"Yes?" Shinku looking back at Sena in her grey eyes.

"Have you lost your, um...V yet?" Sena asked, trying to keep the serious look.

"My V?" Shinku stared at Sena for a moment, trying to figure up what she meant by "V". When it hit her, Shinku sighed. "Do you still have your V?" Shinku countering Sena's question with her own.

Sena slightly flushed at the thought. "I'd rather not tell."

Shinku smiled. "You have your privacy, I have mine." Shinku returned her attention to picking out clothes. "And right now, some of my privacy is cold. What should I wear?"

"You don't have to wear anything formal. Just wear some casual clothes. You want to make it seem like you don't work for the Corporation. That is unless we're on serious business." Sena suggested.

"Then I'll go with this." Shinku said, pulling out some clothes. "Mind opening the blinds?" Shinku asked, Sena giving a concerned look. "I live on the fourth floor, no one can see me up here."

Sena opened the blinds of the window, making the slight tan of her skin somewhat more noticeable and her orange ruffle top gave off a kind of glow. When Sena turned back to Shinku, Shinku was in black shortly shorts and a white bra, she was in the midst of putting on her black tank-top. Sena sat back on the bed, and focused her gaze out the window.

The two were given a few minutes of relaxing silence. Finally, Shinku put on ankle high white socks and a white track jacket with blue sleeves, leaving the jacket open. Shinku went straight to the bathroom to put on her contact. The contact were just to change her eye color. Shinku prefer hiding her true eye color for some reason. Shinku looked up to her mirror, looking into her now yellow eyes. Sena noticed the change of eye color as Shinku came out her bathroom.

"You kinda remind me of a wolf with your eyes like that." Shinku just stared at Sena with a "So What" look. "It's just really fitting for you."

"How's that?"

Sena gave herself a slight moment to think. "It just is."

The two women left the apartment after Shinku put on her blue converse. It was still quite early in the morning, so the streets of Tokonosu City were barely full. As time passed, a 25-story building came into view. The building almost blended in perfectly with the other tall buildings, but what made it stand out was the word, EstraDennel, hanging right above the entrance. This was the Corporation.

As the two women were getting closer to the gate, they saw a group of people holding signs and yelling.

"More protestors." Sena said.

"They got every right. The Corp's been hiding the truth from them, and they all know it. These are just the ones who plan on being the thorns in the Corp's ass." Shinku said with a sigh. "I say it's just a waste of time, but I'm not the one who chooses how they spend it."

Ignoring the protest and rude comments, Shinku and Sena entered the building. Since it was Shinku's first day, she had to get all her equipment for her job. Sena brought Shinku to the twenty-fourth floor, where the person in charge of the Corporation is. This would be the first time Shinku would meet her boss.

Sena guided Shinku to their boss's door. Shinku stared at the door before her. She wasn't nervous, just curious. She was curious to what kind of person is behind the door. To run everything that goes on in the building seemed like a very tiresome job, so Shinku predicted that her boss may be have a short fuse due to stress.

"Mrs. Miyamoto, it's Sena." Sena said before opening the door. "I have the new member of the Pack."

Shinku saw a older woman, possibly in her early 50's, looking up at her with interest. Mrs. Miyamoto sat behind a brown desk, a laptop, paperwork, a name plate that read, Kiriko Miyamoto, and many utensils sat on top of the desk. Shinku could visibly see the white dress shirt her boss wore.

"Welcome to the Corporation, Ms.-"

"Shinku, just Shinku." Shinku interrupted Kiriko.

"Going by a nickname, huh. That's nice." Kiriko fixed the bangs of her short, brown hair, her red eyes fixed on Shinku. Smiling, Kiriko laughed. "You know, child, you remind me of my Rei a bit."

"Speaking of Rei, how is she?" Sena asked.

"Same old, same old." Kiriko sighed. "We plan on visiting her father's grave today." Knowing the other two might feel slightly awkward, Kiriko changed the subject. "So, you're here for your equipment." Kiriko brought an envelope from her desk out, then tossed over to Shinku. "The envelope should carry both your ID and your new phone."

"Phone?" Shinku said, slight confusion in her voice.

"The cells we receive from the Corporation can be considered normal, everyday cellphones, but with a slight difference." Sena began to explain. "With these cells, you can access the Corp's database and get the information you need on a place, person or thing. You can also request for certain vehicles and items from the Corp, but you must make sure you do it ahead of time, the Corp isn't a miracle worker, instantly giving us what we want when we need it."

"There is also a packet with information you must know since you're with the Pack, I highly recommend you read it." Kiriko looked down at her paperwork. "Now, I believe Hirano-san needed the both of you for something. He should be at the basement floors, in the Research Facility."

Leaving the envelope she received sealed, Shinku followed Sena to the elevator. The elevator brought the two to the basement, where the Research Facility was held. Sena brought Shinku to a door that had a name plate by it that read, Takagi.

Entering the office, two men came into view, both in formal suits. One of them was quite chubby with black hair that went down to his shoulders, his bangs reaching down from the side of his temples stretching outwards and obscuring the sides of his face. The chubby man adjusted his glasses as he glanced over to the two women.

"Ah, Sena, you're here with the Wolf Pup." The chubby man said.

'_Wolf Pup?_' Shinku thought.

"Nice to see you again, Kohta." Sena said. "Since Saya-chan isn't here, I take she's watching over the baby."

"Yes, she is, but let's talk about that later, we're here for the new girl." Kohta walked up to Shinku, offering his hand. "I'm Hirano Kohta, I'm in charge of the Security/Military Facility."

Shinku nodded before taking his hand for a handshake. "Shinku."

After the handshake, the other man walked up to Shinku. This man was taller and slightly muscular. His wild black hair and short goatee made him seem quite older than he seemed. "Name's Angel Ikori, leader of the Pack. Currently, I'm subbing in for Takagi Saya as Head of the Research Facility."

"What was it I was called here for?" Shinku asked.

"Straight to the point, huh..." Angel looked at Kohta. "You brought it here, right?"

Kohta nodded and walked over to the desk behind them. He picked up a small black box. Kohta wore a small smile on his face as he looked at it, almost as if it had some kind of nostalgic feeling to it. Walking back to the group, Kohta handed the box to Shinku, who stared at the box in curiosity.

"What is this?" Shinku asked.

"It's a present left behind for you." Kohta said, the smile on his face widening.

"From who?"

"Doesn't matter who, just take it." Angel said.

Shinku opened the box. Inside was a long, curve-bladed dagger and a holster to hold it. Shinku pulled out the dagger and examined it. The blade looked well taken care of and seemed to be resharpened. The hilt was black, covered in metallic silver designs. The holster was made with black leather and looked like it could strap around a belt.

"Heard you were good with a blade, so I thought it was fitting to give this to you now." Kohta said. Angel then gave Kohta a look, he nodded in return. "Shinku, Angel here is going to brief you in on a few things."

"Come on." Angel gestured Shinku to follow.

"Sena, I need to talk to you about something." Kohta told Sena.

Sena nodded, letting Angel and Shinku leave. When the door finally closed, Sena spoke. "So, what this about?"

"It's about her."

_**10 minutes later, on the elevator...**_

Angel stood in front of Shinku, pinning her to the wall of the elevator with his hands. His black eyes stared down into Shinku's yellow eyes, trying to intimidate her. But Shinku stared right back at him, no sign of fear in her eyes.

"Didn't think men were so direct these days." Shinku joked, seriousness in her voice.

"What are your true motives?" Angel said.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Shinku replied.

Angel gritted his teeth in frustration. "Stop playing dumb, I can read you like a book!" Shinku eyed over to the box in her hand, then returning her attention to Angel. "Don't even think about it."

Angel reached for something behind him. But as he did, the elevator door opened as they reached the floor they were heading to. Here, a person was waiting for them, an S&W M.37 pointed right at Angel.

"Freeze, this officer will not allow you to harm that woman!"

_**To be continued...**_

Boy, it's been awhile since I wrote anything...Depression is kind of a hard thing to overcome. I hoped you liked the first chapter to this story. To those following my other story, don't worry, I haven't given up on it. Now, it's that time once again, but for this story, it's a first...Review Time!

So, 20 years into the future, and it seems humanity somehow made it. And, hopefully, the E.D. Corp makes sure nothing like the apocalypse comes again. We are also introduced to Shinku, a mysterious girl with mysterious intentions...Well, they don't call this the ENIGMATIC world for nothing...

Sena Richet, a character from 20 years ago, also makes her appearance as a partner and guide to Shinku. Other survivors are shown or mentioned as well..and they were all from the Anime and Manga of HSOTD (Except for Angel Ikori). Those characters were: Kohta Hirano, Saya Takagi, Rei Miyamoto and Kiriko Miyamoto.

Then comes that officer at the end of the chapter...

Well, I'll leave with the cliffhanger and some questions!

Who is Shinku? What are her true intentions? What could her past history possibly be? What about Angel? Is he really a reliable and safe leader? And what about the other survivors like Ichihiki or Takashi? Are they alive? Also, who is the officer pointing a gun at Angel?

That's all for Review Time! Ja mata ne!

Keeper out!


	4. E1: A Bird Caged In Its Memories

Hello everyone, Lazersword88 here to write a bit for my buddy Keeper of the Fallen's new story. Keeps and I have teamed up a decided to do some co-authoring for each of our newest stories. Not to push my own stories too hard, but please make sure to check out my stories once you're done reading this chapter. Who knows, you might enjoy them too. Anyways, this chapter will focus more on my OC Sena, who was introduced in the last chapter. So sit back, relax and enjoy everybody…

* * *

_**Episode 1: A Bird Caged In Its Memories**_

"Sena, I need to talk to you about something." Kohta told Sena.

Sena nodded, letting Angel and Shinku leave. When the door finally closed, Sena spoke. "So, what's this about?"

"It's about her." Kohta explained, his brow furrowed and setting the mood for the forthcoming exchange. "I think the higher ups of the Corporation are making a big mistake with this one".

"Why do you say that?" Sena asked. "She's not any worse a pick for the pact then the last three who joined".

"That's part of my point actually..." Kohta said his voice slightly louder than a whisper, as if he was afraid someone may be listening. "Of our last three recruits one got bit and turned on their second mission, the second went crazy and had to be killed, and the last one has been MIA for over a week. I think the Corporation needs to pick their recruits better."

"It's hard getting the kind of people we used to recruit to join EstraDennel anymore." Sena said, pushing her rectangular glasses up her nose. "With all the bad press we get, it's a surprise anyone wants to join anymore."

"Most of our recent recruits have been young punks in it for the money or the thrills who don't understand the magnitude of what they are signing up for." Kohta said, rubbing his chin. "However, that Shinku girl is different somehow. What scares me is that none of us seem to know what her real motives are. If she screws something big up, we could have a major riot on our hands."

"I can only watch this girl so much." Sena said with a sigh as she run a hand through her dirty blond hair, fresh with grease stains from her work the night before. "Being the pact's mechanic, I am only on some of the missions with her. How do we expect to keep her in line when I'm not around?"

"Don't worry" Kohta said, with his trademark devilish grin. "I've already arranged for someone to watch over her while you're not around".

"Oh and who might they be?" Sena asked with a curious look visible across her soft and flawless features.

"That information is above you pay grade" Kohta said jokingly. "Just kidding. But all jokes aside I probably shouldn't tell you just so you won't give it away to Shinku by accident. So how was the garage last night?"

"It was the same old, same old" Sena said, slightly annoyed by something. "About 15 of the companies transport vehicles needed some repairs, which is higher than usual. I got to make some repairs to a tank, which was a lot of fun actually. But that fun died down when I was given the burnt up shell of what used to be an SUV and told to make it like new. I'm not a damn miracle worker!"

"But what about, your little visitor?" Kohta said, with a mischievous smile.

"Don't even bring him up!" Sena roared, her eyes wide in anger. "Angel is a disgusting creep! He shows up every single night while I'm trying to do my job with a bouquet of flowers and a whole bunch of creepy pickup lines. How many ways do I need to tell him I hate his guts?"

"Angel is a piece of work though." Kohta said. "He's stubborn, easy to irritate, has a furious temper and then expects everyone to love him for it".

"I just wish he would go and pour his attention onto someone else…" Sena grumbled, wanting to end this conversation and get back to something she enjoyed like doing repairs.

"I can actually see you guys being together" Kohta said with an immature giggle.

"What? Why would you even say something like that?!" Sena barked, getting ready to punch Kohta in the face.

"Sena, to be honest, I don't know how you're not married right now" Kohta said, his serious tone back. "You're going on thirty. I'm sure a pretty woman like you could have their pick at a lot of great men. Just look at me and Saya!"

"Yeah I'm looking alright" Sena laughed. "I'm looking at all those bags under your eyes!"

"Grow up, it's part of being a parent." Kohta said as Sena giggled. "You still haven't told me why you haven't been at least trying to form relationships with anybody. What's going on?"

"I'm not sure if anyone can make me feel like I did with him" Sena said, her arms wrapped around her waist as if what she was recollecting made her feel cold. "Maybe one day he'll come back for me and finally accept how I feel…"

"Sena, get a grip!" Kohta yelled. "Ichihiki is gone now! Even if he did make it through that, he still told you that he was moving on".

"I refuse to believe that…" Sena said. "Sooner or later he'll figure out it was meant to be…"

"I'm telling you, as your friend Sena…" Kohta said, standing up and putting a firm hand on the dirty blonde's shoulder as his eyes met her grey ones. "…you won't truly be happy until you move on and let him go".

"I can't talk to you anymore about this." Sena said, standing up a briskly walking for the door. "He'll come for my one day… I just know it".

"Come on Sena, this is completely unlike you, please come back and sit down…" Kohta said before realizing his words fell on deaf ears. "Jeez, I'm not sure who's the craziest anymore…"

Sena raced through the halls with her down and without a word to anyone she raced past. On her way to the garage she almost ran into at least 3 people, who jumped out her way at the last second and gave her looks of annoyance. Finally she reached her office in the garage, her sanctuary from the craziness of the rest of the world. In the garage it was just her and her beloved machines. Sena closed the blinds of her office and tore off her clothes until she was just in her bra and panties. Pulling on an old grease cover white tank top and matching dirty short shorts, she thought of her long lost friend for a moment. Reaching into the drawer of the desk she sat in front of, she pulled out a photo album and scrolled through its contents. Each was a picture of Sena and Ichihiki from back in their teenage years, back before any of this happened. Sena envied how happy she looked in those photos as her other hand instinctively slid in between her legs and she closed her eyes.

"No!" she yelled as her eyes shot open. "I can't do that here. I've got to keep him out of my mind" Sena said as cold sweat ran down her blushing cheeks. "If someone sees me like this, I could lose my position. Not that it matters anymore…"

Sena looked around her small office. On her desk was an assortment of picture frames holding mostly pictures of Ichihiki and Sena. Around the walls of the room were hung the many makeshift weapons Sena had created after Z-day had happened. She liked to keep them as trophies as a reminder of the trials she had to face in order to be alive right now.

Sena closed and locked the door to her office before getting out the tools to start her job. She took her hair out of its ponytail as ruffled it up to make it sufficiently messy, since she wanted to feel filthy from her work on the vehicles. Sena enjoyed the feeling of a good day's worth of grease, soot and dirt covering her slender frame as it made her forget all of her past trauma and focus on her work. As she had gotten older Sena seemed to spend as much or more time in this garage as opposed to working in the field with the rest of the Pack, which Sena didn't mind really. However, Sena still enjoyed the rush of battle that fighting zombies for all these years had given her. The rush that was almost as good as being in Ichihiki's widespread arms…

"I've got to stop think about him and concentrate" Sena mumbled as she almost striped the lug nut off of a tire. "Wait, Lug Nut…"

_**1 year before Z-day**_...

"So how was the work day, Lug Nut?" the crimson haired teen asked in an excited tone that was very unusual for him.

"Ugh, I hate it when you call me that, Wolfy" Sena laughed, the messy tomboy giving her friend a playful shove as the two walked back from Sena's work, like they had always done.

"Hey, your nicknames aren't much bette.r" Ichihiki said, running a hand through her blond messy hair.

For whatever reason, Ichihiki just loved touch Sena's hair and Sena didn't mind the attention. The two friends started as both being loners with no real friends to speak of, until one fateful night when Ichihiki beat up a stalker who was following Sena home from her work at the garage. Strangers at first, the two grew to be the most inseparable of friends. Even if they were loners, they could be loners together.

Sena had lived through a lot of trauma in her life. Her French world class mixed martial artist father 'Lightning' Richard Richet was killed by the Yakuza for not throwing a fight and a few days later her mother was gunned down for her gambling debt by the very same Yakuza. This debt left young Sena with miniscule amounts of her family's once great fortune and unable to live the lifestyle she was accustomed to. A social outcast, Sena spent her time tinkering with various inventions and devices, which led to her starting to work as a mechanic. However, she was still lonely until she had met Ichihiki.

"Sena… Sena…"

_**Present**_...

"…Sena!" Angel yelled at the woman, who appeared to still be in a daze.

"Ah!" Sena yelled, slightly freaking out and falling on her face.

"Still graceful when surprised I see…" Angel said, face palming.

"What do you want?" Sena said sternly, with a terrifying look that sent chills down Angel's spine.

"I just wanted to give you these and talk" Angel said, handing chocolates to Sena.

"Thanks I guess…" Sena grunted in barely audible speech.

"So… Do you have some time to chat while you work?" angel asked inquisitively.

"Not to you I don't" Sena said while working on her cars more.

"Come on." Angel said, a touch of anger in his voice. "What will I have to do to get you to like me?"

"Fall off a cliff and die." Sena said, her own frustration building.

"Fine, whatever." Angel said with an uncharacteristically solemn look. "I guess I'll try to talk to you again tomorrow".

Angel left Sena to do her work and was met by a familiar pair of thick glasses at the doorway to the rest of the building.

"Did it go any better?" Kohta ask.

"No, I'd say today's response was the worst it's ever been." Angel said, still looking a bit hurt.

"Tell me Angel, why do you like her?" Kohta asked. "She may never warm up to you no matter how hard you try."

"I'm not exactly sure myself, but when I look at her behaviors it reminds me a bit of what I know is wrong with myself." Angel said. "Plus I think she's a pretty woman who doesn't deserve to be held prisoners by her own memories and delusions of a past she has no chance of reliving. In a way, I almost feel sorry for her."

"Well you better not screw this up, by ass is also grass if you do." Kohta said before walking back into the building, leaving the dark haired Angel to stand there and watch as Sena worked on each car in an artful, rhythmic and captivating manner…

* * *

I hope you guys enjoy this deeper introduction to Sena's character. If you want to see more like this you should request that of Keeper in a review. Until next time, Lazersword88 back to his own stories!


	5. New OC's!

Ah, sorry for not putting this in on the last chapter, it absolutely slipped my mind. I gotta lot of things on my hands, so I tend to be forgetful every now and then. So, here are the second and final picks for the Enigmatic World!

Hinata Fuyuko - VengefulBiscuit

Sylvie Fiocre - C1nd3r5

Bonifacio Biancardi - MaliceArchangela

Miu Ohzora - XDreamKillerX

Momoko Miyake - AddictedToAngelic

Reina Arisawa - Generic Zero

Well done people, thank you for your OC's and have a nice day!

Sayonara!

Keeper out!


	6. E1: Chemical VIII

_**Episode 1: Chemical VIII**_

Angel glared back at the officer, who stood confidently at the entrance of the elevator, her blue eyes focused on her target. Angel gritted his teeth and began mumbling under his breath. Pushing away from Shinku, Angel walked out of the elevator.

"I have a place to be anyways..." Angel muttered to the officer.

Shinku walked out of the elevator, staring in curiosity at the female officer who was no taller than herself. The officer gave her a smile and let out her hand for a handshake, which Shinku willingly accepted.

"Hello, I'm Nakaoka Asami, but that's Officer Nakaoka to you." Asami said somewhat playfully. "You must be Shinku, right?"

Shinku nodded. "Why did you help me?" Shinku asked.

"It's my job!" Asami exclaimed

The other people walking past them began to stare, making Asami feel slightly embarrassed. Shinku stared at the flushed girl before giggling in amusement. Asami looked up at the silver-haired girl with surprise, then deciding to giggle herself.

"I have to go, Officer Nakaoka." Shinku said politely. "And thank you." With that, Shinku began to walk off.

Asami watched the girl with a small smile on her face as she began to fix her long brown hair. "This girl really is-" Asami was interrupted mid-sentence as someone bumped into. "Eek!"

Asami began to fall forward.

"Got you!" A female voice said as Asami felt herself be caught.

Asami looked up at the person who caught her, and her eyes widened at who she saw.

* * *

"So, she was 39, huh...She seemed so much younger..." Shinku boringly said as she examined Asami's profile on her phone.

Shinku scrolled over information that she didn't deem important. Soon enough, she got bored of reading and put her phone back in the pocket of her track jacket. Shinku then examined the box with her new dagger as she walked aimlessly down a street. It mystified her to who may have left this behind for her. She could only think of one person though, her father.

Shinku knew absolutely nothing of her father except for the fact that he went missing before she was born. Everytime she would ask her mother about him, she wouldn't really say much about him, she never even told Shinku his name.

Though, even though she may not know who he is, she felt that she may have already met him, years before when she was 4 years old. She had gotten lost while on a camping trip with her mother, Sena, and their friends. She had been wandering about in the forest, crying out to her mother for almost two days.

Since it had only been a few years after the undead population was reduced to a minimum and the Corporation was still at its rising, there was still a chance to run into the undead when outside the city.

Unfortunately for Shinku, she had her first encounter with the undead. Even though there were only three of them, Shinku was still too young to handle her own. But this unfortunate turn of event changed at a flip of a coin. That's when she saw him, her father.

"Daddy..." Shinku muttered instinctively. Realizing what she had just said, she began to flush in embarrassment. '_Great, I'm talking like a little girl..._'

Shinku found herself in front of a monument that stood tall at the entrance of a cemetary. The monument was a marble statue with a multiple names on it. At the top of monument, in a large font, were the word, "In memory of the fallen, they shall never be forgotten...". There were also four names which were in slightly bigger font than the other.

"Komuro Takashi, Busujima Saeko, Amakusa Yui-" Shinku began.

"And Ichihiki Ookami." A voice said behind Shinku. She turned to see a woman who looked just a bit older than herself.

The woman had long, pink hair with bangs that reached past her temples stretching outward. She wore a yellow sundress, a sun hat, and sandals. She gave Shinku a sincere smile.

"These are the people who never came back from that incident. No one knows the fate of them, but were labeled as dead after witnessing the explosion that took place after my friends and I were evacuated." The woman said. "You know of the nuclear bombing of the cities that were majorly infected.

"Who are you?" Shinku asked.

"Ah, yes, I forgot to introduce myself." The woman giggled. "I am Maresato Alice (_**A/N: or Maresato Arisu, for which ever you prefer**_)"

"Maresato..." Shinku repeated.

"Yup, and whom are you?" Alice asked, tilting her head in curiosity.

"Shinku." Shinku answered.

"Shinku?" Alice said, finger on her lips. "That's not very feminine."

"It's a nickname..." Shinku told Alice.

"A nickname?" Alice giggled again. "You're just like Ichi-nii."

"Ichi-nii?" Shinku said with confusion.

"Ichihiki!" Alice exclaimed with a smile.

Shinku looked back at the name, Ichihiki Ookami, wondering where she had heard that name before. But her train of thought was broken by her phone ringing. She reached into her pocket and took out her new phone.

"Hello?" Shinku said, answering the phone.

"Honey?" An older woman's voice said.

"Mom...?"

"So Kiriko did give me the right number." Shinku's mother said. "Say, can you come to the hospital, I'm kinda lonely..."

Shinku sighed. "I'm on my way..."

Shinku went off running, leaving Alice by herself. She wasn't bothered by the fact that Shinku left without a farewell, she just turned around and smiled at the man standing before her. The man was formally dressed, wearing a white, long-sleeved dress shirt, black slacks and dress shoes.

"She sure has grown since I last saw her." The man said as he pushed up his black sunglasses.

"Onii-chan, you came for our date!" Alice said happily.

"I did promise you..." The man sighed as he walked up to the monument, covering a certain name with his hand. He stared at the back of his hand for a few seconds before clenching it shut as if he were trying to grab the name printed beneath it. "I hope you're watching me..." The man muttered to himself.

"Onii-chan! Let's go! We don't want Onee-chan to find out about this!' Alice shouted.

The man smiled as he turned to Alice. "Just wait here a moment, I need to get your present..."

The man walked up to a bench that wasn't too far away from the monument and opened the cage that he had set by it. Alice became wide-eyed as she began to hear the barking a little puppy.

"Happy birthday, Alice-chan."

_**At the hospital...**_

"I'm here to see Tenji Chichiwa." Shinku informed the nurse at the front desk of the hospital.

"Another visitor, huh..." The nurse said. "Go ahead. You know which room it is, right?"

Shinku nodded and walked at a quick pace. She was growing a bit worried over her mother, who had gotten badly sick. It has been a few weeks since she was brought to the hospital, but to Shinku, it felt like months.

Chichiwa's doctor had informed Shinku that her mother may not make it, and that they had done their best to help her, but all they can do now is lessen the pain. Shinku already knew that they couldn't help Chichiwa, Chichiwa was experimented on years before the apocalypse and was injected with something called Chemical VIII (_**A/N: Chemical 8**_). To what Shinku knew, Chemical VIII was made up of two experimental chemicals, Chemical VI and Chemical VII.

Chemical VI was a deadly chemical that, if injected directly, could kill a being by slowly destroying the vital organs when it was at its beginning stage. Chemical VI was supposed to be used for military uses, but at its lower stages of development, the chances of it working was at a low one-eighth. After many years of working on Chemical VI, it no longer was killing chemical, but one that completely numbs the body, but the reaction of the brain it slowed as well.

To make up for the con of Chemical VI, Chemical VII was created. Chemical VII was originally made to bring the reaction of the brain back to a normal state, but instead of those results, Chemical VII had completely increased all fives senses to the point of being inhuman.

When the two chemical combined, they become Chemical VIII. Chemical VIII was the suppose chemical to perfection. Three different people were chosen to be injected with Chemical VIII, but the results was not what they had expected. Two out of the three test subject died in a matter of minutes. But the one test subject lived seemed to be no different from how she was before. The test subject, a 4 year old Tenji Chichiwa, was put under supervision and had to endure being tested on for almost a year.

After Chichiwa's sudden and unexplainable escape, the group of scientists were disbanded by the US government. But this did not stop the scientists. Acting on behalf of their selfish reasons, they began sharing this information with other country government. Due to this, groups from around the wold worked in secret on Chemical VII. And with the help of those other groups, the scientists were able to change Chemical VIII from its liquid state to a infectious gas.

The gas proved completely insufficient at first, not giving the needed effects the scientists wanted, nor the deadly effect that it gave when it was in its liquid state. Nearing the end of their research, the scientist thought of mixing both the gas and liquid form of Chemical VIII. After letting a test subject breath in the gas, the scientist would inject the liquid form of Chemical VIII. The results were nothing they expected.

At first it seemed nothing was wrong with any of the test subjects, some were even allowed back to society due to the lack of results. Those who willingly stayed were under tight supervision and long testing. It was after a majority of the subjects have left that the results began to show themselves.

The remaining subjects seemed to have caught a sudden fever. Not to long after, they died...But not for long. As the bodies were being disposed of, the dead came back. Thus, it was the start of the apocalypse.

The undead came with some of the effects of both Chemical VI and Chemical VII. They became absolutely numb of any pain, but their reaction process was still slow. Their sense of hearing was at its highest and their strength was completely inhuman. But due to Chemical VI's earlier effects coming back into play for some reason, all vital organs and some parts of the brain were destroyed, making it impossible to kill the undead except by going for what was left of the brain. And with the brain partially destroyed, the undead lost all sense in reason, and their sense in both smell and sight became majorly poor.

Pushing aside the thought of Chemical VIII, Shinku found herself standing in front of a door. With a soft sigh, Shinku entered, being welcomed with a heartwarming smile.

"Mom..."

_**At Saya and Kohta's house...**_

"How the infection worked is quite simple." Said a woman with long, pink hair. Though she had it tied up most of the time, the woman had decided to leave it down due to the baby she was carrying in her arms. "From the information we received at that lab twenty years ago, you needed to be infected first by the gas content of Chemical VIII, which we were all exposed to-"

"And how is that possible?" A woman with short brown hair, her eyes looking in irritation at the orange eyes of the other woman. "We weren't experimented on by those scientists, Saya!"

"If you were paying any attention back then, you would have probably understood, Rei." Saya said. "The undead, or Them as we called them, radiated the gas form of Chemical VIII. If we could see the foul aroma of Them, then in that aroma would be Chemical VIII." Saya paused. "Did you get that part? I'm dumbing my explanation down to the point that even the 7 year old Alice could understand."

"Yeah, just keep explaining..." Rei said.

"As I said before, when you're exposed to the gas content of Chemical VIII, you're infected, but that alone can't turn you to one of Them, or kill you. You need to recieve the chemical from direct contact. Since They had Chemical VIII not only radiating from their body, but running through their body, being bitten or having their blood get in contact with an open wound would trigger the start of the turn." Saya said.

"So when both types of Chemical VIII are mixed, it would be like mixing a flamible gas with a lit match." Rei looked at Saya to see if she had actually gotten it correct. Saya nodded. "But what happens when you get bit and you're not infected by the gas content."

"Though that would be highly impossible, there was an explanation of to what would happen in that lab's files." Saya said as her baby began to coo as she pushed up her glasses. "It turns out that the Chemical VIII's liquified form was its beginning stage of development. When they tried it out on three people, only one survived. That would be Tenji-san. And from what was documented, the other two who died didn't rise back up."

"So that means without both forms of Chemical VIII, a person can either die, if they are injected with the first stage of Chemical VIII, or live." Rei mumbled.

"Yes, that's how Chemical VIII works." At this moment, the baby in Saya's arms began to cry. "Hush, hush, Chika-chan..." Saya said, beginning to comfort the baby boy.

Rei seemed to giggle at the moment, her mood changing from how she was earlier. "You make a wonderful parent, Miss Genius."

"Heh, really now..." Saya glanced over to an opened envelope on her desk. "Rei, can you look at that letter?"

Rei looked at Saya with confusion in her eyes, but shrugged the look off and nodded her head. Rei walked over to Saya's desk and pulled out the letter inside of the envelope, or what was suppose to be a letter. Rei wasn't surprised by the content of the paper, which read "TOBY KISA is alive".

"So you got this letter as well." Rei said.

"Do you know who this Toby Kisa is?" Saya asked.

"No...I don't..."

_**To be continued...**_

Done! Short, quick and good. I actually had to rack my brain for this chapter. I hope it was quite understandable...I mean, I explained the point of this chapter twice...Here, I'll let you read the chapter over, I can wait!

...You done? Because I believe it's Review Time!

We were able to discover a bit more, but when you discover something, more questions keep rising, am I right? But first, let's review on what we found out. We were able to find out what started the apocalypse! And this early in the story, too! But we are in the future, you should have seen that coming, and I'm not making a mistake on releasing that kind of information now. We also figure out that Chemical VIII requires two specific requirement to have a living person turn.

But there are questions in this chapter that maybe rattling in your head. Like who was the girl that ran into and caught Asami? Who was with Alice after Shinku ran off? Why you get a full description of Shinku's mother, Chichiwa? Since Chichiwa survived the effects of Chemical VIII, does that mean she's immune or just lucky? And who is Toby Kisa?

That's the end of my little "Here, you learned something new, so let me throw some more questions in your face to think about" moment of my notes.

For some of you, you maybe wondering if Asami Nakaoka is an OC I created. Let me say this, I wish! Asami is a character of HOTD. For those who have read the manga, you would know. For those who just watch the anime and never gave the time to read the manga, you have two choices, read the manga or wait for Season 2 of the anime, where I'm most definitely sure she'll show up in. For those who know of Asami's fate in the manga, don't flame me for doing what I did, okay?

To explain Asami in short, she's Saya's rival when it comes to Kohta.

Sayonara!

Keeper out!


	7. E1: KIBA SYTO

Hey, Keeper here. Sorry for the long wait. I was applying for work again, and was getting school stuff for myself. Also, I was getting into a game, and I couldn't really pull away from it. Well, anyhow, here's the next chapter.

For those who read my other story, Bloodstained World. A few familiar names will show up in this chapter from that story, but no need to worry, there are no spoilers in this story. I said before that this story is an AU to that of my other story.

Also, for those who submitted characters into this story, I would like to tell you something beforehand. There will be a very important flashback in this chapter, revealing a few characters that survived all the way through the apocalypse. Just because I didn't show your character in the flashback, doesn't mean they didn't survive.

Also, don't expect chapters to be this long. I didn't like the length of the chapter, but I needed to shorten the first arc so we could get on with meeting the original cast.

Alright! Let's read!

_**Episode 1: KIBA SYTO**_

_**A week after Shinku's first day...**_

Shinku sat outside Kiriko's office, staring at the floor, hiding the shock expression she wore as she thought about the incident at the hospital. It wasn't too long ago, so Shinku could remember it clearly. The man in the hood, the note he left, her mother's corpse...

Shinku couldn't believe this was happening to her. She had just visited her mother yesterday. Both of them were enjoying themselves. Talking, laughing, smiling. All that was just yesterday, now she could no longer do those things with her mother. A single tear fell from Shinku's watery eyes.

After a few minutes of silently sobbing to herself, Shinku glanced over to the note that that man left behind beside her mother's hospital bed. She never got to see her mother's killer's face due to the fact that he was wearing a Japanese demon mask over his face. She couldn't even find out what the skin and hair color of the man was because of his clothing. She only knew that it was a man because of his build.

Shinku wondered what that man wanted to achieve by killing her mother, who never did anything wrong. She couldn't make sense out of it. If the man was trying to get to Shinku, he could have done so in that hospital, but instead he just killed her mother, encountered Shinku as he was exiting the room and didn't even try to kill her.

What confused Shinku more was the contents of the note left behind by that man. Shinku flipped open the note, reading the four words that were written, "Forgive me, KIBA SYTO". Why did a murderer need to ask for forgiveness, when that murderer knows he has already done the unforgivable.

"Forgive you?" Shinku said, anger rising, as well as tears. "Why should I forgive the likes of you, Kiba Syto?!"

Shinku threw the side of her fist to the wall behind her, making a loud thud.

_**A few hours ago...**_

In the outskirts of Tokonosu City, a rundown highway stood, restricted to the public by the government due to the number of infected in the area. Though, through the years that number has decreased, for an unknown reason, the undead just never seem to disappear from that area.

A lone living corpse stood on the highway, aimlessly staring off. Four other corpses lie a few meters away, a bullet hole or two left from the shoulder up. The wind was blowing softly against the dead flesh of the corpse as it moaned and began to limp forward.

When the wind seized to blow and the corpse took another small step forward, a bullet whizzed past its head by inches. The bullet made a small sound as hit the concrete. That sound was enough to catch the corpse's attention as it made a complete stop and began to walk in the direction of the noise.

A distance away from the corpse, two female adults are on top of a broken down bus. One of these adults was Shinku, who lie on her stomach, looking through the scope of the sniper rifle she was using. The other was a woman in her late 40's. She was a tanned woman with purple hair and red eyes. This was Rika Minami.

Rika was seated in a chair she had set on top of the bus beforehand. She was looking through a binoculars, keeping her sights on the lone corpse limping slowly towards the spot Shinku had hit. Rika sighed as she looked away from the binocular, smoothing out the wrinkles on her black combat suit with her hand, then looking over at the irritated Shinku.

"You're not going to hit it if you're so tense like that." Rika told Shinku. "Just relax."

"I know, I know..." Shinku muttered.

"Focus on your target, adjust to the wind, and when you feel like you have it, take a deep breath..." Rika instructed. It took a few seconds, but she heard Shinku inhale, then hold it in. "That's it, keep your aim steady..."

Shinku fired. Through her scope, she watched the corpse drop, a part of its head being blown off by the fired bullet. Exhaling, Shinku sat up from her prone position and stretched out her arms.

"Glad that's over..." Shinku sighed as she unzipped her white hoodie vest, revealing the light blue shirt she wore beneath.

"You aren't that bad for someone who never handled a sniper rifle." Rika complimented. "You only went through half of your second clip."

"That suppose to be a good thing, Minami-san?" Shinku questioned.

"You're better than Angel." Rika laughed.

Shinku grinned to herself. Today was her first day training with Rika, and first ever training she's been through since she joined the Pack. From what Rika had told her and what she had heard about Rika from other people, when it came to sniping skills, Rika was your gal. Back in Rika's days, she ranked in the top 5 snipers in Japan. She could still hold that title even today.

Rika was also part of the group from twenty years ago. Shinku figured this out by using her phone's ability to gather information on almost anyone and anything.

"Hey, Minami-san..." Shinku said. Rika looked at Shinku, showing that she was giving her her full attention. "What was the outbreak like when it all started?"

Rika smiled as she looked away from Shinku and off into the distance. "There are no words that can describe the hell we all went through. Being truthful, there was once a time when even I thought we were already done for." Rika said calmly.

"And what time was that?" Shinku asked.

"At that laboratory-" Rika began before her phone buzzed.

Answering her phone, Rika began to talk to the person on the other line, answering with Yes's and Understood's. After a moment of silence, Rika hung up. Grabbing the sniper rifle behind her chair, Rika looked over at Shinku.

"One more area, and we're done for today." Rika said.

"Damn..." Shinku breathed as she picked up her sniper rifle.

"It's not going to be that bad." Rika said with a smile as her eyes seemed to be focused past Shinku. Effortlessly taking aim, Rika fired a single shot. "I'll be shooting as well."

Rika passed the binoculars to Shinku, who used them to look in the direction Rika had shot. Shinku had found two of Them lying lifelessly on the ground, showing no signs of getting up. Shinku wasn't too surprised, Rika was and still is ranked in the top 5 snipers of the country.

As Rika leapt off the bus and onto the ground, Shinku put her hand on the seams of her blue jeans, sliding her hand up to the holster that was strapped onto her black belt. She gripped the black hilt of her dagger.

After a moment, Shinku sighed and let her hand drop. She then proceeded to follow Rika.

_**An hour and half later, at the cemetary...**_

Shinku sat impatiently at a bench near the entrance of the cemetary. She was waiting for Sena, who had asked her to meet up and talk. Though, Shinku would usually had nothing to talk about, this time she did.

After a few minutes of waiting, Sena finally showed up. As she arrived, she gave Shinku a smile and a wave. Shinku just waved silently, standing up from her seated position.

"What took so long?" Shinku asked.

"I got carried away in my tinkering." Sena replied.

Shinku just sighed and gestured Sena to follow her. Sena followed Shinku to the monument in front of the cemetary, where Shinku stopped and turned to face Sena. Sena stared in curiosity to why Shinku had brought her there.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Shinku said seriously.

"What do you mean?" Sena asked.

"Why didn't you tell me that you were part of that group twenty years ago?" Shinku said.

Sena just stared at Shinku for a moment before taking a deep breath. "So, you figured that out, huh?"

"These phones do give out a lot of information, Sena." Shinku said. Shinku turned to the monument, looking at the four names that were in larger font than the others. "So, you knew these four...Or was it just Ichihiki?"

"Just Ichihiki, he was my boyfriend after all." Sena said with a slight blush.

"You said 'was'...Did your relationship end when he died?" Shinku said, throwing another question at Sena.

Sena was silent for a moment. "Ichihiki isn't dead."

"So he broke up with you?" Shinku went on.

But Sena wasn't listening. She seemed to have drifted off somewhere in her head. Her memories brought her back to that day. The day four people "died".

_**Flashback...**_

_**20 years before...**_

A large group of survivors made their way through a burning building. The building was five-stories high with a roof and basement. The survivors made it from the basement floor to fifth floor. And with the failed experiments and living corpses on their tail, it wasn't an easy run.

The group of survivors were trying to make it to the wide roof, where the US military and few helicopters were waiting for them.

"Come on, we're almost there!" A black haired boy yelled, firing the shotgun he had, the M1014 JSCS. "Hirano, keep that opening open, those two are still back there!"

"Got it, Takashi!" Kohta replied as he fired back at the undead behind them.

"Everyone, keep moving!" Takashi yelled over to the others. A tan woman with purple hair walked past Takashi and stood near Kohta, pulling out a pistol and firing at the undead. "Minami-san!"

"Don't worry, just make sure the others get up to the roof. Hirano and I will keep the opening open for the other two." Rika said.

Takashi nodded and chased after the others. The other survivors were nearing the stairs to the roof. A girl with long purple hair and blue eyes lead the group. Takashi soon caught up with the others, but he stayed near the back of the group, making sure none of Them would get to the other survivors.

The purple-haired girl kicked open a door, which revealed the stairs to the roof.

"Injured first." The girl said.

A dirty blonde girl stepped up first, supporting a barely conscious boy with black hair that went an inch past his shoulders. The boy opened his eyes a peak, his vision blurry.

"Sena...Are we there...?" The boy asked.

"Just hold on, Axia." Sena answered. "Just a few more steps and we're in the safe zone. How are doing, though?"

"What ever that woman did...I think it's working..." Axia said before his voice trailed off again.

Sena reached the door that would lead to the roof. Before opening the door, Sena looked down the stairs, where the other survivors were coming up. She was hoping that a certain boy was alright.

"Ichihiki..." Sena shook her head after a moment and opened the door.

Sena was welcomed with bright lights and the sound of helicopters. There was also yelling as guns were pointed in her direction. Sena froze. She didn't move until two figures walked up to her and Axia.

"Guns down." A US soldier said as the two figures stopped a few feet away from Sena.

"How's that guy holding up?" A teenage boy asked, running his hand through his black, spiky short hair.

"He got bit, but a woman did something to him." Sena answered.

"Chichiwa's handy work, huh...June, get that guy." The orange-haired girl nodded and took Axia from Sena. "Don't worry about him, June's just going to bring him to the medics. I just wanted to ask you-"

"We need to go! Now!" Takashi yelled as he, Rika and Kohta ran up the stairs after the other made it up. "That Thing is coming up here!"

The black-haired boy expression changed from relaxed to serious. "You, get to the helicopters, we're going to start evacuating." He told Sena, then he ran past her towards the door.

Sena ran towards one fo the helicopters, all the other survivors doing the same. The monstrosity from the lab in the basement was making its way up to them, and all the survivors knew that if they stayed there any longer, they weren't leaving.

Sena joined a helicopter occupied by a little girl with shoulder-length, pink hair, a busty blonde woman, and Rika. When she just began to settle down, Sena heard yelling coming from where the black-haired boy was. Running out of the door was a crimson-haired boy and short blonde girl.

"Bro! What the hell happen-" The black-haired boy began.

"I'm fine, Mark!" The crimson-haired boy yelled, walking past Mark with the short blonde girl towards the helicopter Sena was in.

Sena ran out of helicopter towards the boy. When she was a few feet away, Sena noticed something wrong with the boy.

"Ichihiki...Your arm..." Sena said as she stopped in her place.

Ichihiki was missing his left arm. It seemed like it was completely sliced off. Ichihiki kept walking, ignoring Sena. A US soldier came out of the helicopter as Ichihiki approached the helicopter.

"Are you okay, kid?" The soldier asked.

"Yes, I'm fine, sir." Ichihiki answered. "Can you give me and this girl a moment?"

The soldier nodded and left the Ichihiki and the blonde girl to themselves. Ichihiki looked silently at the girl before putting his only hand on the top of her head. He began talking to her, but it was too quiet for Sena to hear. After about thirty seconds, the blonde girl hugged Ichihiki. Ichihiki let the hug be for a few seconds before lightly pushing away the blonde girl.

"It's not your fault, Yui..." Ichihiki said, giving Yui a weak smile. "Besides, I can't run away anymore."

Ichihiki ruffled Yui's shoulder-length blonde hair before watching her go in the helicopter. Ichihiki sighed before unsheathing his katana and walking back towards the door. This is when Sena cut off his path. Ichihiki looked at her coldly with his lightning-blue eyes.

"What?" Ichihiki said.

"You finally come back with all your memories, all your sense...and-" Sena said before Ichihiki interrupted.

"It's over between us, Sena. You made a decision that cost you our relationship." Ichihiki said. "I don't even know if I can even forgive you, nonetheless, trust you."

Sena stared at Ichihiki in disbelief. "What do I have to do for you to forgive me, Ichihiki?! All I wanted from you is to accept my feelings! To love-"

"If you really want my forgiveness, stay out of my way." Ichihiki calmly said, walking past Sena.

Sena felt a hand on her shoulder and she shot a look behind her to see June. Sena's eyes began to water as June shook her head.

"He's mind is set, so just give it a rest, please." June said as she gestured for Sena to return to the helicopter.

Sena let a single tear fall as she turned back to the helicopter. When Sena looked back at where Ichihiki was, he seemed to be arguing with Mark about something. Ichihiki pointed the blade of his katana at Mark.

"Just do it, it's the only way we're going to stop that Thing." Ichihiki yelled.

Mark looked at Ichihiki frustratedly before pushing the blade to the side and punching Ichihiki across the face, knocking him to the ground. After a few seconds of silent staring, Mark offered a Ichihiki a hand while picking up Ichihiki's katana.

Once Ichihiki was on his feet, Mark hugged Ichihiki. "I love you, brother." Mark told his older brother before pushing off and handing Ichihiki his weapon and walking away.

Takashi and a purpled-haired girl walked up to Ichihiki. Ichihiki looked at them unsurely, but Takashi put hand on Ichihiki's shoulder and said something to him. Ichihiki seemed to nod. Takashi turned to the US soldier who ran up to them.

"We're staying." Takashi said. "If we leave that Thing alone, it might escape out of the area and avoid the nuclear explosion. We'll make sure that Thing doesn't escape."

"Are you kids sure?" The soldier asked.

"We made it this far. Just have faith in our strength." The purpled-haired girl said.

The soldier seemed reluctant, but he nodded and told the others that they were leaving those three behind. In just a few minutes, the helicopters were lifting off. The other survivors watched as the three who stayed looked up at them.

In the helicopter Sena was in, the slide door to the helicopter was still open. June stood at the opening, looking down at the other three. In the middle of the helicopter was Yui, who looking at the first-aid kit by the opening. Sena notice Yui staring at the kit, and wondered what the younger blonde was thinking.

Yui slowly got to her feet, walking over to the opening of the helicopter. Looking out, Yui saw that they were pretty high in the air, but they were still near the burning building. Yui quickly grabbed the first-aid kit and jumped out of the helicopter.

"Hey!" June yelled as she tried to reach out to Yui, but failed.

Sena heard Yui yell something as she ran up to see if Yui was alright, but Yui's voice was covered by the sound of something exploding. Something must have blown up on either the fourth or fifth floor because part of the roof began to crumble down into the building.

"What happened to that girl?" June said as she scanned the roof. She had taken her eyes off Yui when the explosion went off.

"There." Sena pointed near the edge of the roof.

Yui was hanging five-stories high from the ground. The only reason she hadn't fallen to her death was because Ichihiki was able to catch her with his only arm. He seemed to be yelling something, but Sena and the others were to high to hear.

Suddenly, Takashi began firing down the stairs that lead to the roof. The purple-haired girl run to Ichihiki to assist him on getting Yui on the roof. Once Yui was up, June closed the slide door, making sure no one else would perform the same stunt as Yui.

"Get us out here." June told the pilot. "What ever they're putting themselves against, I have a feeling that we don't want to be here when it actually gets to the roof."

"What's happening after this?" The busty blonde woman asked June.

June looked at the US soldier sitting near her. "We're going to get as far away from this area as possible. An exact destination is still be discussed in one of the other helicopters."

"Why are they doing this now?" Sena asked.

"Well, we weren't really planning on nuking the place..." The soldier said.

Sena froze at her spot

"You're what?!"

_**End of flashback...**_

Sena seemed to snap from her trance, her attention focusing back on Shinku, who was looking at the monument, her hand over a name.

"Mackenzie Blackwood..." Shinku muttered.

Sena looked at Shinku with a shocked expression, as if Shinku had broken some kind of taboo. Shinku noticed Sena's expression when she glanced over at her, and became confused to why Sena was giving her such a look.

"What is it, Sena?" Shinku asked.

"Ah!" Sena quickly changed her shocked expression into something more casual of her. "It's nothing."

"Really?" Shinku shrugged her shoulders and returned her attention to the monument.

Suddenly, Sena's phone rung. Sena looked who the caller was, the name Kiriko Miyamoto was displayed. Sena answered the call.

"Yes, Mrs. Miyamoto?" Sena answered.

"Sena, I need you to head to the airport, two agents from the US Corp. are waiting for you there. One of them had directly asked for you." Kiriko told Sena.

"I'm on it." Sena replied, hanging up after. "Shinku, I have to be somewhere, it seems urgent."

"Yeah, yeah, go on." Shinku sighed. "I was planning on visiting mom anyways." Sena nodded and began to run off. "Wait!"

Sena stopped and looked back at the silver-haired girl. "What is it?" Sena asked.

Shinku was still not facing Sena as she began to speak. "I'm sorry for bringing back bad memories..." Shinku said before running off in the direction of the hospital.

Sena smiled happily as she watched Shinku disappear in a crowd of people. "I guess you still are the old you...Maria..."

_**A few minutes later, at the hospital...**_

"I can't believe I couldn't find anything on that name..." Shinku mumbled.

Shinku was taking the elevator to the floor her mother's room was on. On her way to the hospital, Shinku had tried to find information on the person, Mackenzie Blackwood, but to her shock, there was no available information on that person. The same went for Ichihiki Ookami's name when Shinku had searched it before. Shinku wondered if if the phone could really give any information the possess asked for.

It would make sense to keep some information confidential, but on two random people who are dead? That is what didn't make any sense to Shinku. For the case of Ichihiki's name, it made sense to her. Ichihiki wasn't his real given name. Shinku knew this due to the woman named Alice giving her that information. So Shinku guessed that the only real way to get information on a person is putting in their real name. So this would make sense since Ichihiki's name isn't his given one.

But in the case of Mackenzie, it didn't really make any sense. Shinku could say that the name was a fake, but Shinku felt as if there was more to it than that.

"This is getting irritating..." Shinku said as the elevator stopped.

Shinku made her way through the hall, noticing something off about it. The hall seemed to be empty, not a soul in sight. Shinku began to feel uneasy, but continued to make her way to her mother's room.

When Shinku was a few steps away from the door to her mother's room, the door opened. At first, Shinku thought nothing of this, thinking it was just a nurse leaving the room after checking up on her mother. But she was wrong.

Walking out of her mother's room was a man. Shinku was sure it was a male due to the build of the person's body. The rest of the man's feaures were a mystery due to the fact that his clothing did not show a bit of skin and the japanese demon mask he wore covered his face. He wore a black hoodie, hood over his head, and black gloves. Shinku could only guess that the man was wearing a kind of turtle-neck shirt beneath his hoodie for his neck was covered as well. He also wore baggy blue jeans and brown boots.

Shinku stared at the man, standing as if she was frozen. The man in return seemed to stare right back at her. Then Shinku realized something. The man had just exited her mother's room. Without hesitation, Shinku drew out her dagger and dashed forward, attempting to slice the man diagonally.

The man effortlessly grabbed Shinku's arm with his left hand, seizing her attack. He then gave her a hard kick to her side, both disarming her of her weapon and sending into the nearest wall.

Shinku crashed into the wall, a shot of pain crawling up her back. She felt like she had been stunned, unable to move. Shinku glanced upward at the man as he seemed to be examining the dagger. As if he had lost interest, the man flicked the dagger from his hands and into the wall, inches away from Shinku's right shoulder. He then simple began to walk away.

Shinku thought of giving chase, but decided against it. Her priority was her mother. Getting to her feet, Shinku pulled her dagger out of the wall and back into her holster, and then she ran into her mother's room.

She froze.

"M-mom..." Shinku said shakily.

Shinku fell to her knees, looking at the corpse that was her mother, a bullet hole in her head and a silenced pistol lie on the ground. A small card like item fell to the floor from the edge of Chichiwa's bed. The card landed near Shinku, its content being revealed as it slide slowly over to her.

Forgive me, KIBA SYTO...

_**An hour later...**_

The thud Shinku made as her hand hit the wall filled the silent hallway. She had never felt so much emotions swell up inside her before. She felt like she wanted to scream.

The door to Kiriko's office opened, and Angel came out, looking at her with a irritated look. Shinku didn't look up at him, hiding the tears she was trying to hold back. When Angel spoke, he spoke to her no differently than he has before. Coldly, uncaring.

"Get up, it's about time you confessed a few things."

_**To be continued...**_

Finished! God, that took forever! I hoped it was enjoyable for you to read. I would say that I enjoyed writing it, but if I did, this would have came out way sooner. Now before we get into my little Review time, I got some good news and some bad news.

Bad news first. My time for writing has been completely limited now, due to the fact that school is coming back in just two days for me and I have a job I plan to keep. And since I'm still young, I don't really manage my time well either...Damn homework...

But the good news is the chapter that will be coming next is the end of Episode 1, so we'll be getting to meet everyone else very soon. Even better news is, I already got the chapter for Episode 2 done, each chapter introducing a group of characters, so you can expect an updated every three or four days after the next update.

Review Time!

Chichiwa Tenji is dead, killed by a mysterious man name Kiba Syto. This leaves or heroine twenty years in the future in devastation. We are also revealed a sneak peek into the the conclusion of one of the final arcs of this story. IchihikixSena is canon! Oh, and Rika's alive.

With more shown, more is put into question. Why did Kiba kill Chichiwa? Who is Kiba Syto? Does he have any connection to Toby Kisa? What happened to Axia twenty years before? What did Chichiwa do to him? What the hell was Mark Kuzen and June Sakira doing in Japan, and with the US military? What was the Thing chasing the group of twenty years ago? How did Ichihiki lose his arm? Who is Yui Amakusa? What connection did she have with Ichihiki? What happened between Ichihiki and Sena? What did Sena do that cost her relationship with Ichihiki? Why are there so many question?!

Done!

Sayonara!

Keeper out!


	8. End of Episode 1

Hey guys, guess what?! It's two chapter being updated at the same time! Make sure to read the end of Episode 1 and the beginning of Episode 2!

Read on!

_**End of Episode 1: The End of a Beginning is a New Beginning…**_

"We've been examining you for the whole week you been working here, and by your searching data we receive, it seems you been doing a lot of snooping a particular survival group." Kiriko began. "It also seems you've been in contact with a mysterious person we've been looking into. I would first like to know your intentions in joining the Pack."

"Why would you need something like that?" Shinku asked.

"You want information we have on Kiba Syto, right?" Angel asked. "This is merely for a trade of information. You tell us your reasons, we tell you the things we know about the man who killed your mother."

The last sentence Shinku heard got to her. She felt her eyes begin to water, but she never let the tears fall. She didn't want to be seen as the emotion type. It was one of the reasons she changed her name. The old Marie Tenji, in Shinku's opinion, was not needed in the life she lives now.

To begin her new life as an agent for EstraDennel, she had given herself a new name, which, in her view, had given her a whole new personality. She didn't stop their either. She changed up her whole appearance as well, from a new haircut to wearing contacts.

This was how the girl known as Shinku was made.

"I..." Shinku started, but she fell silent.

"I know this is hard for you." A voice came from behind.

Angel quickly drew his gun, pointing it at the orange-haired women. The woman was wearing a business suit, her sapphire eyes focused on the breaking Shinku rather than Angel.

"Name. Now." Angel demanded.

"June Kuzen, agent of the United States." June said.

"There were two of you." Angel said, refusing to lower his weapon.

"My husband is with Sena Richet. Mark Kuzen. Ring any bells?" June said sweetly, which annoyed Angel.

"Lower your weapon, Angel." Kiriko said. "Welcome to Tokonosu, Agent Kuzen."

"Thank you, and, please, I don't mind if you call me June, this isn't our first meeting after all, Mrs. Miyamoto." June said as Angel lowered his weapon. "As I was saying, Maria, would you like me to tell them your reasons for joining the Pack?"

"I don't know you."

Shinku said her sentence without emotion. It was true, Shinku didn't know this woman, neither does she know how June knew her name. But that didn't matter. What mattered to Shinku was the world she knew, and how that world was breaking apart due to fact that the person she most cared about had died. Her body, her soul, they were like a mirror on the verge of shattering.

"Yes, but I know you. I've met both your mother and father when I was young teenager." June said.

Shinku's head seemed to shoot up as she heard that June knew her father. June smiled slightly, knowing now that she had her full attention.

"I take that Chichiwa never spoke the name of her husband. It would make sense that she wouldn't want to talk about her deceased husband, Tenji Keiichi." Said June. Shinku's eyes went wide as she heard the word "deceased".

"Dad…Dad is-" Shinku began.

"Yes, your father's died. But that was all twenty years ago. So your goal on finding him by using the Corporation isn't going to get you anywhere." June told Shinku.

Shinku's heart dropped. Time seemed to stop in her eyes as June's words sank in. Her father, the man she thought who saved her when she was young, was dead. He had died a year before she was born. So who was that man? And why save a young girl who he had no connection with? Was it out of pure kindness? Shinku didn't think so. No one gives the time to risk their lives for someone else nowadays, not when it involved the undead. Knowing this fact even took away her personal reason to being in the Pack. That reason being, to track down and meet her father, bring him back and reunite him with her mother, and find out why he's been gone so long.

But now Shinku knows that Keiichi Tenji, her father, is dead. What question arises in her barely shattered mind was, who was the man that saved her and why did he do so? Why had her mother never spoken about Shinku's father? And finally, what happened twenty years ago?

"I wanted to find my father…" Shinku muttered.

"What?" Angel said.

"My reason for joining the Pack, I wanted to find my father." Shinku said. "Now, tell me, who is Kiba Syto?"

There was a new spark in Shinku, and that spark was enough to rekindle the fire in her heart. Her eyes full of determination, her shattering mind piecing itself back together. Kiriko smiles and sits straight up in her seat.

"Take out those contacts and we'll begin." Kiriko said.

Shinku sighed as she began to remove her contacts. Her eyes were now unmasked, revealing the lightning-blue eyes she hid behind her contacts. June smiled at the sight as Angel scoffed and looked in a different direction.

"My name is Maria, daughter of Tenji Keiichi and Tenji Chichiwa. Can I please receive the information I was promised to receive."

Angel cleared his throat and looked at the new Shinku. "Well, let's begin then. I will first tell you that name of the murderer who killed your mother isn't his real name. We are also certain that the name we have isn't his real name either, but the man you know as Kiba Syto also goes by the name of Toby Kisa."

"Toby Kisa is well known in America." June said. "You could say he's a murderer of justice. He kills a person who is involved with the underground groups aiming to start another apocalypse, or is involved with giving our samples to bio-terrorists."

"How is killing my mother showing justice?" Shinku asked.

"Don't know, but we'll find out." Kiriko said. "Returning to the subject of Toby Kisa, thanks to your encounter with Toby, we were able to conclude that he is somewhere in the city of Tokonosu."

"Have you any idea on who this person is?" Shinku asked.

"We have Saya working hard on that." Kiriko answered.

"How were you able to figure out that Kiba Syto was Toby Kisa?" Shinku went on asking.

"A lot of common sense." Angel answered. "If you haven't realized already the letters in the name 'Kiba Syto', are the same letters in 'Toby Kisa'. The only trouble we're having is what could these letters stand for."

"T, O, B, Y, K, I, S, A…" June muttered. "We could guess what the letters meant by the arrangement of the letters, but when Kiba Syto's name comes into play and it's like a whole different problem."

"Why don't we just mix the letters into a-" Shinku began. "Uh, never mind, I realize the flaw in that…"

"I see no sense in continuing this guessing game, let's move on from the subject-" The phone in the office let out a ring, and Kiriko answered it, ending her sentence. "Hello…I see…"

Kiriko waved the other three to excuse them out of her office momentarily. The other nodded silently and left the room. June, Shinku, and Angel stood silently in the hallway, June pulling out a book from her bag. The title of the book was, "The Crimson Wolf and the Silver Fox". Shinku was slightly interested in the book. On the cover of the book, it showed a crimson-colored wolf curled in a circle, cuddling close the silver-furred fox, which wore a peaceful, sleeping expression. The colors to the animals were unnatural in Shinku's opinion, but I guess that's what draws a person to a book at points and times, the unnaturalness of it all.

The author to the book was a person who went by the name of "T.K.", which Shinku guessed to be the initials of the name of whoever wrote the book. There was a small quote on the back of the book. It read, "The most meaningful story written". Shinku couldn't make out the name of the quoter, but she couldn't care less. From that quote, she could assume that the story wasn't based on the experience of the pandemic the author had to face, or some fictional writing about the apocalypse itself, which seemed to be a running theme nowadays. If Shinku were to judge this book by its cover, it would become obvious to her that the content of the book was meant to take seriously, and the reader would have to put a lot of thought into what they read.

June glances over at the 19 year old girl and smiles. She gestures for her to come over. Shinku shrugs her shoulders. She did love books when she was in high school, so she wouldn't really mind to talk about one. It would even help her get her mind off some unneeded thoughts.

"You like books?" June asked.

"Who doesn't?" Shinku answered nonchalantly. "What's this one about?"

"To simplify most of the book, it's about a lonely boy in a deep depression. The lone wolf in the midst of a dark world. He would be labeled as the Crimson Wolf for his hair was a crimson color." June explained. "And as for the fox, the fox is a very lively and tricky girl. She is labeled as the Silver Fox for the silver strip she had at the end of her bangs. This lively girl became the light to the boy's dark world."

"So, it's a kind of love story." Angel said. June stared him. Angel stared back for a second before shaking his head. "I read the book too."

"Looks like Mr. Grouch has a soft spot for mushy literature." June joked. Angel only sighed in reply. June looked at Shinku, who was still keeping her eyes on the book. "Would you like to have it?"

June closed the book, offering it over to the silver-haired girl. June looked slightly surprised by the offer, but calmly took the book from June.

"Are you sure?" Shinku asked.

"I read it multiple times, so I don't mind letting you have it. Besides, my husband has a copy himself." June said.

Shinku opened the book, revealing the back of the front cover. There was a signature there, "T.K." written in a large cursive letters. Shinku began to feel curious to the name of the author. But her curiosity was taken over as her finger accidently let a few pages slip past her grip, revealing the beginning of the story:

_For years, I lived in a dark world. So dark that I could feel my body and my soul being devoured by it. Slowly, but surely, I was losing myself. My mind was filling with negativity, my sanity slowly fading. I was drowning in this darkness with no possible way out. That was my world, the world I lived in for years._

_Then there was her. She was the light to my dark world, the most unique person I've ever met. This girl was the girl I hated the most. Her lively and tricky personality sickened me. The way she spoke made me want to ignore her. I guess this was the reason why I was so oblivious. The hate, the negativity…the darkness blinded me from her radiance. If I wasn't so blind, I would have let her carry me away like a leaf being blown by the wind._

_So, this is my story…Or should I say our story. The story of how I reached out to the warm hand of the girl who changed my life. This is the story of the Crimson Wolf and the Silver Fox._

Shinku stopped herself from reading on. The few paragraphs on the first page amazed Shinku. June couldn't help but smile as Shinku's eyes met her own. Shinku closed the book as the door to Kiriko's office opened.

"You can come back in now." Kiriko told them.

_**At the monument in front of the cemetery…**_

"T,O,B,Y,K,I,S,A" These letters were repeated over and over in a mutter as Saya Takagi walked back and forth in front of the monument.

Rei Miyamoto sat down on a bench with Kohta Hirano as he held his son in his arms. In just one week a lot has happened. First the letters from Toby Kisa, then Alice Maresato goes missing a day after her birthday, and now someone has died by the hand of Toby Kisa. What's worse is that even the genius of the three adult can't figure out the puzzle before her.

This was irritating for Saya. She's been trying to solve the letter puzzle within Toby Kisa's name, but she couldn't make it out. Could it have meant something that would reveal the purpose of Toby Kisa? Saya found it highly impossible, but she couldn't just throw out the possibility.

"Can you believe that Alice is missing?" Rei asked Kohta as Saya continued to think.

"It's hard to believe, isn't it? I'm sure her disappearance is related to this Toby Kisa guy." Kohta said as he looked at his baby boy's sleeping face. "Alice was like my own child, still is. I kinda feel at fault here, but I know I'm not to blame."

"I'm sure she's okay, Kohta." Rei said, reassuring her friend. "She's not the fragile little girl she was back then. She's been hanging out with Rika and Shizuka a lot, and from what I heard, Alice was taught some basic combat and first aid from both of them. I bet if she wanted to, she could join the Pack."

"Alice in the Pack." Kohta couldn't help but laugh. "Can you still see her in that Zeke costume?"

Rei giggled at the thought. Even though the apocalypse had changed their life in a traumatic way, they couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia looking back at that time. Without that pandemic, Kohta and Rei both knew they're future wouldn't have been like it was now.

The zombie apocalypse had brought all of them together, Takashi and all, even if they all didn't make it out alive. The friendship they held, the bond that kept them together, where would that be without the apocalypse?

Rei jumped as she heard Saya pound her fist in the monument. Kohta and Rei looked Saya's way, Saya staring wide-eyed at the monument.

"Of course! Why didn't I realize it sooner?!"

_**End of Episode 1…**_

Bingo! This chapter is done! Quick! Review Time!

Interesting read wasn't it! Looks like June and Mark are in Tokonosu, and Shinku (Who will be called Maria in later chapters when she shows up again) is reverting back to her old self. Also, did you realize that some of the previous question won't be answered until a later time! Long-ass cliffhanger!

So, again, who is Toby Kisa? Who was the man who saved Maria when she was young? Is Alice's disappearance really connected to Toby Kisa? Maria's eyes….? What are June and Mark doing in Tokonosu? Where is Sena and Mark? Where is Alice? Are you ready for Episode 2?

Sayanora!

Keeper out!


	9. E2: Fox and Wolf

_**Episoed 2: Fox and Wolf**_

_**About 3 years before the Outbreak...**_

A 15 year old boy stood on the empty roof of his school, the rain pouring down on him. The boy was not at all dressed for the weather, only wearing a plain black shirt, dark-blue jeans and black sneakers. Dressed the way he was, he knew he would get sick, but that didn't matter to him, not one bit. He just wanted it to end.

He stared at the only entrance to the roof with his lightning-blue eyes through the bangs of his wet, long black hair. He seemed like he was expecting someone to run through the door to stop him before he pulled the trigger of the gun in his hand. After a few minutes, the boy stared down at the .45 magnum in his hand. His hand was shaking out of fear, but the boy didn't care, he just wanted it to stop, he wanted the pain and misery he felt ever since that dreadful day to stop.

The boy pushed out the cylinder of the revolver, seeing that there was only one bullet. That meant he had one-sixth of a chance of succeeding. He pushed the cylinder back in and spun it three times. He looked up the grey sky with an expressionless face, the rain hitting his face. He closed his eyes, bringing the revolver to his head, trying to not think of what he was doing.

He put his finger on the trigger, letting out a soft sigh before pulling the trigger as quickly as he could five times...Nothing happened. He opened his eyes and looked towards the door he had came through just minutes ago. He was half wishing that someone would stop him, but the other half just said to pull the trigger one last time.

"She's...not going to make it this time...isn't she?" The boy whispered to himself.

The boy turned his back on the door, not wanting to face who ever came rushing though it. The boy started counting down from 10 in his head. As he began counting down, everything felt slower. Time, the rain, his thoughts, everything was put in slow motion.

'_10...9...8..._' The boy began questioning himself. '_7...6...5..._' His hand began shaking more violently in fear, but his finger stayed at the trigger. '_4...3...2...1..._' The boy felt like he needed to yell something, the name crawling up his throat. The boy gritted his teeth, trying to hold back his voice, but it didn't help, he had to yell her name...

"Mackenzie!"

It all happen too quickly for the boy to process.

He heard the door fly open behind him, footsteps running in his direction. He knew he had to pull the trigger now, before he was stopped. His hand shaking, he began to pull at the trigger. Just before he could pull back all the way, he felt his person get grabbed. Then...

"Sto-" A female voice yelled, but the boy didn't get to hear the rest of it as the sound of the gun being fired blocked off everything else.

The boy dropped to his knees, the gun slipped from his hands as all his muscles began to lax. It was all over...

"You idiot..." The female whispered in his ear as she let go of the arm that held the gun the boy used, then proceeding to wrap both her arms around him, her chest pressed against his back, her head resting on his shoulder. She, like the boy, felt her jeans get soaked as she sat down on the wet roof. "You actually pulled the trigger..."

Before the boy could pull the trigger on himself, the girl had pulled his hand in the direction of the roof.

The boy glanced of to the tiny crater that the bullet produced on the stone roof. "You actually came..."

"You did scream my name." Mackenzie said teasingly, kissing the boy on the cheek.

The boy blushed slightly. "Stop doing that, it's weird. We're cousins, you know." The boy said, looking at Mackenzie with a serious expression.

"Look at you trying to act tough." Mackenzie said with a smile. "And we're STEP cousins. So it's okay to think of me like that." Mackenzie softly grabbed the boy's chin, having the boy face her face to face.

The boy notice that Mackenzie's pure black hair was drenched, her bangs, which swept to her right and usually went barely past her eyes, were clipped by a purple hair clip. Her light purple eyes were staring at him almost lustfully. But the boy didn't take it to heart, he knew she was just playing around with him.

The boy stood up, escaping from Mackenzie's hold. Mackenzie looked up at the 15 year old with a surprised expression.

"Mackenzie, you're 22 years old, an adult to be exact. Start acting like one." The boy said with a serious tone.

"Look who's back to normal..." Mackenzie muttered boringly, looking away from the boy as if she were mad at him.

"The rain's letting up..." Mackenzie heard the boy say softly. Mackenzie look back in his direction, seeing the hand being offered to her. "Let's go home..." The boy wasn't looking at Mackenzie, he was pretending to look at the sun that was slowly breaking apart the dull grey clouds while hiding the soft blush on his face.

Mackenzie giggled. She took the boy's hand while picking up the revolver he dropped. The boy looked at her when she was back on her feet. He chuckled when he saw Mackenzie pretending to shoot him once in the head. He then gave Mackenzie a small smile, which was rare for him to do.

With both of them standing, Mackenzie noticed that the boy standing before her, about 7 years younger than herself, was about half an inch taller than her. Mackenzie sighed to herself as she practically threw the gun in her hand off the roof, not caring about what it would hit below, and hugged the boy.

"Before we go, I want you to promise me that this will all stop, okay?" Mackenzie said. "I want you to stop all this suicide stuff. I already lost a lot of important people in my life, so please...I don't want to lose you as well."

"..."

"I know the pain you feel, you know, I used to think the way you did, and I know this saying is pretty cliché, but life is worth it." Mackenzie said, now looking the boy in the eyes.

"If you used to be like me, then why are you still here? What gave you reason to live while carrying heavy burdens?" The boy's tone of voice was darker, and hinted that he was still mentally in pain. "I killed my father! Do you know how much that pains me? To know that I was the one who ended his life?!" The boy's eyes began to water. Hiding his face, the boy looked up at the sky, which stopped raining down on them. "I have no reason to live...All I have, all I get, all I'll ever need is pain and misery...I don't want to live like that, you know..." Tears were now falling from his eyes and sliding down his cheek.

"Then live for me..." Mackenzie said.

"What?" The boy said, looking down at Mackenzie, who was still hugging him. Tears were slowly rolling down his face.

"You don't have a reason to live, right? And I don't want to lose another important person in my life. So, live for me." Mackenzie said, giving the boy a smile. "Live for me until you find an actual reason to live, okay?"

The boy looked at Mackenzie with a slightly surprised expression. Gently pushing Mackenzie away from him, the boy walked over to the railing of the roof. The sun was now shining brightly on the two, a transparent rainbow in view. The boy smiled to himself. That smile slowly turned to a chuckle, then into a laugh. There was no hint of pain in his laugh, a matter of fact, there wasn't any pain in it at all. The boy was laughing out of pure joy, tears still rolling down his cheeks.

The boy wiped the tears off his face before turning back to Mackenzie,

"I promise..."

_**2 years before the Outbreak...**_

"I wonder what's taking him so long..."

Mackenzie sat in the living room of her new home. Just a week ago, she and her younger step cousin had moved to Tokonosu City, Japan, in hopes of starting their lives anew. With the first three days of their arrival, they had been busy unpacking and buying more furniture for their house. The day after all that, the 16 year old boy that lived with Mackenzie began his first day of school in Tokonosu City, Mikazuki Academy.

For the rest of the week, it seemed the boy wasn't making any friends. Mackenzie figured that he may have had a bad first impression with his classmates, or he was pushing away anyone who tried to get close to him. If that were the case, Mackenzie knew she had to give him a short talk.

"We came her to change." Mackenzie sighed, clipping her bangs up.

Mackenzie had cut her hair a few months ago, and now it was back to her mid-back. She tied the back of her hair into two pigtails, and died a silver stripe at the end of her clipped bangs. Her purple eyes rested on the blank screen of her new TV.

"School should have ended awhile ago.." Mackenzie grumble. As if on cue, there was a knock on her front door. Mackenzie shot up and quickly walked to the door. When she opened the door, a boy with long, crimson hair was waiting, wearing his school uniform. "Ichihiki Ookami! Where have you been?!"

Ichihiki just stared at Mackenzie with his lightning-blue eyes. He sighed and pointed beside him. "I brought a-"

"Girl?!" Mackenzie exclaimed as she finally noticed the teenage girl, wearing a similar uniform to Ichihiki. Instead of slacks, the girl wore a black skirt.

The girl stared Mackenzie with curious and shy blue eyes, a finger on her lips. She had short, light-brown hair, her bangs were pushed to the right of her face, partially blocking her right eye. She rather short as well.

"Ah, I'm Mackenzie Blackwood, pleased to me-" Mackenzie was in the process of bowing when she felt a hand on her head.

"Leave the introductions for later." Ichihiki said as he stared at Mackenzie clothing.

Mackenzie looked at herself quickly, realizing she was wearing nothing but a pink tank-top and a yellow panty. Mackenzie became flustered in embarrassment as Ichihiki rolled his eyes.

"Aaah, just come in while I get dressed appropriately." Mackenzie told the two teen.

Minutes later, Mackenzie came back out of her room, wearing a white shirt and black yoga pants. Closing the sliding door to her room, she followed the voice of the girl that Ichihiki brought with him to the living room. As Mackenzie entered, the girl took notice of her first. Getting up from the couch she and Ichihiki were sitting on. She bowed and began to introduce herself.

"I'm Nakaoka Asami, Second year student at Mikazuka Academy." Asami introducing herself a bit quickly. "It's nice to meet you, Blackwood-san."

"Oh, just call me by my first name, and you don't have to add any kind of formality, okay?" Mackenzie told Asami. "And you don't have to be so tense when you speak to me."

Asami took a deep breath and smiled at Mackenzie before returning to the couch with Ichihiki, who was resting his chin on the palm of his hand as he glanced over at Asami. Mackenzie examined the two from where she came in. She was waiting for something to happen, anything to be exact. But when nothing happen, she began to get slightly annoyed.

"Ichihiki. can you come with me? I need your help with the bathroom." Mackenzie said. "It'll be a real quicky, 'kay?"

Ichihiki stood up. "I'll be right back." Ichihiki told Asami before following Mackenzie to the second floor and into the bathroom.

Closing the slide door to the bathroom, Mackenzie turned to Ichihiki, hands on her hip. Ichihiki just stared at her boringly. Mackenzie sighed knowing Ichihiki wasn't taking her seriously. Mackenzie walked up to Ichihiki, pulled his tie out of his blazer and pulling his upper body closer to her, making him lean in towards her. She was now staring into his lightning-blue eyes with her purple ones.

"Is there something you want to tell me?" Mackenzie asked with a serious tone.

Ichihiki just stared at her. Mackenzie was becoming impatient with the unresponsive Ichihiki. When he noticed her becoming impatient, Ichihiki sighed.

Ichihiki leaned closer to Mackenzie, then planting a soft kiss to her forehead. Ichihiki pulled away slowly and looked into the flustered Mackenzie's eyes. "I love you." Ichihiki said with a calm voice.

Mackenzie's grip on Ichihiki's tie loosened, Ichihiki taking this time to pull away from Mackenzie and walked out of the bathroom. Mackenzie stood there as if she were stunned, her face was a bright red. It took her a view minutes to realize that she was alone in the bathroom.

Shaking her head, Mackenzie muttered to herself. "That smooth bastard..."

After taking in a few deep breaths, Mackenzie headed back downstairs. Before she had entered the living room, Mackenzie could hear Asami thanking Ichihiki for something. This made Mackenzie think the situation over. Pushing aside her first assumption, Mackenzie stayed back and listened to the conversation of the two teens.

"Thank you, Ichihiki-kun, if it weren't for you, those boys would have-" Asami began.

"Don't think much about." Ichihiki said. "I just stepped in because I felt like it, that's all...I can't believe you followed me home just for that..."

"Well..." Asami was silent for a short while. "I thought you should hear it..."

There was a moment of silence. Mackenzie guessed it may have been awkward for the two, and know how Ichihiki was, Mackenzie knew it was a matter of time before Ichihiki was about to kick out someone who had the potential of being a loyal and trustworthy friend. But just before Mackenzie was to step out, she heard Ichihiki chuckle.

"You thought I should have heard it, huh?" Ichihiki pause as if he were in deep thought. "Nakaoka...Thanks..."

"Hmm? Why are you thanking me?" Asami asked.

"It's..." Ichihiki paused again. "Nothing...It's nothing..."

"So..." Mackenzie began as she popped between the two. She had taken the time to silently sneak up on the two. "You going to kiss her as well?"

Asami jumped a bit, being startled by Mackenzie's. Ichihiki just put a small smile on his face. Ichihiki had his eyes closed slightly, staring at the floor. He was aware of Mackenzie sneaking up on them. He's been living with Mackenzie long enough that he feels like he gained a sixth sense on Mackenzie's presence.

"What makes you say that, Kenzie?" Ichihiki asked calmly as Asami hid her flustered face.

"You already thanked her, that means you're already used to her. You even went out of your way to help her, from what I heard...Sooo?" Mackenzie waited for Ichihiki to answer.

"Mackenzie, Nakaoka is just..." Ichihiki stood up. "She's just my friend."

Ichihiki walked out of the living room. Once Ichihiki left the room, Mackenzie leapt onto the couch. Stretching her arms upward, Mackenzie made herself more relax as she glanced over to Asami, a gleam of curiosity in her eyes.

"So, how did little Ichi help you, hmm?"

_**Flashback...**_

Asami's body was being pressed against one of the outer walls of her school. Two boys had ganged up on her, and now one of them held her against the wall, while the other watched closely in amusement.

"Second year, Nakaoka Asami, hmmm..." One of the boys muttered.

Asami struggled to get free from the boy's hold, but it was futile, the boy's grip was too tight. The boy seemed to be amused by Asami struggling as he examined Asami's body with dirty eyes. The boy began to chuckle sickly, his grip on one of Asami's arms loosening. Asami took advantage of the moment to slap the boy across the face, letting her go immediately.

But before she could run away, the other boy was able to grab both her arms from behind her. Asami found herself in another futile struggle. The boy she had slapped was now looking at her with an enraged expression.

"You bitch!" The boy said. "I'm going to enjoy playing with your body!"

The boy began to quickly unbutton Asami's blazer. Immediately after finishing the blazer, he began to unbutton her dress shirt as well. Asami's mind began to go into panic. She began to try to break free even more frequently, but it was once again futile and it only seemed to excite the two boys.

Being caught in the moment, neither one of them noticed the crimson-haired boy standing behind the boy undressing Asami.

"Mind if I join in?" A voice said coldly behind the boy as he was halfway through Asami's buttons.

The boy quickly turned around, only to recieve a hard knee to his gut. After the boy dropped to his knee while gasping for air, the crimson-haired boy turned his body and gave a hard side kick to the boy's face.

"You bastard! You'll pay for-" The other boy began, letting go of Asami.

But before boy could finish his sentence, the crimson-haired boy threw a hard punch into the boy's face, sending him to fly into the wall. The crimson-haired boy looked at the two teenaged boys and scoffed before walking up to Asami, who was sitting on the ground, taking in the scene before her.

Asami looked up at the crimson-haired boy with a sense of fear in her eyes. The boy seemed quite intimedating to her, and seeing how he handled the other two boys, Asami saw him as dangerous as well. She looked up at the boy, her blue eyes meeting his lightning-blue.

To Asami's surprise, the boy's stare softened as he offered her a hand. "Are you okay?" The boy asked.

_**End of flashback...**_

"That was all today after school." Asami told Mackenzie.

"No wonder he was late..." Mackenzie mumbled. "So, Asami-chan, you like him? He's free, you know..." Mackenzie whispered to Asami, trying to keep it between her and Asami.

Asami blushed slightly. "Ah, it's not like that, Black-Ah, I mean Mackenzie." Asami already lost her cool. Taking a few seconds to collect herself, Asami took a deep breath. "I mean, I already have a boyfriend."

"But, you still do, don't you?" Mackenzie said, teasing the teenage girl.

"What are you two talking about?" Ichihiki's cold voice reached the two females' ears.

"Ichihiki-kun!' Asami exclaimed as she looked at Ichihiki, who stood exactly behind the couch.

"Make a sound when you move, dammit!" Mackenzie said jokingly. "You almost gave me a heart attack."

Ichihiki ignored Mackenzie and put his attention on Asami, who looked back at him nervously.

"Nakaoka, can you tell me who those boys were?"

_**To be continued...**_

Um, sorry, I'm kinda tired right now to be writing an author's note, but I wanted to give you guys a present for being so patient. Thanks for waiting and I hoped you and enjoyed your two-in-one update!

Keeper out!


End file.
